To Hear Your Voice
by BonJeanne
Summary: "Has anyone noticed that the Secretary's been acting rather odd lately?" "She might be schizophrenic." "I hope it's not drugs." "Maybe it's brain tumor."


To Hear Your Voice

I haven't proofread this and it's not my best work, but I promised a story this weekend and I figured that it was postable. Sorry about all the page breaks.

* * *

The Secretary was late. Normally, the elevator ambush began promptly at 7:03, but it was already 7:07 according to Blake's watch. He, along with the rest of the staff, stood impatiently waiting for the elevator doors to open. The telltale ding signaled her arrival, and Blake snapped to attention.

"Good morning everyone," Elizabeth said as she stepped onto the seventh floor.

Blake, always eager to impress his semi-new boss, rushed up to her. "Good morning, Madam Secretary. You have a very busy schedule today."

"Okay."

"After our morning briefing, you have three back to back meetings with the French, Belgian, and South Korean ambassadors. Then Walter Nowack has requested that he brief you on a situation in Belarus. I've left an hour open for lunch between noon and 1. So far, no one has asked for a lunch meeting, though knowing Russell, he'll probably drop by."

"But I have a full hour for lunch?"

"Yes."

"But?"

"Well, after lunch, you're stuck in meetings until about 5. Then your stylist has blocked off an hour and a half in your schedule to prep you for the dinner at the White House tonight. I've calculated that the earliest you could leave is at 8:30. That would get you home at roughly 9."

"I won't be home until about 9," she muttered to herself. "Are you okay for dinner?"

Blake froze. It wasn't a particularly odd question; it was just seemed more personal than her professionalism. "Uh... Yes ma'am. Thanks."

"Anything else Blake?"

"Assuming you aren't rushed to the White House or Sit Room, I think you'll be home uncharacteristically on time today, which, if you ask me, is a good thing."

"I see you've been talking to Henry as well," she smiled.

"Dr. McCord may or may not have mentioned something about you being missed at home," Blake admitted. "I hope that's not crossing a line."

"I appreciate your concern, Blake. You two are very sweet."

* * *

Daisy knocked on the door of Secretary McCord's office. She got no response, but without Blake viciously guarding the door she let herself in. The Secretary was sprawled across the couch, unmoving.

"Ma'am?" Daisy asked cautiously. When she got no response, she stepped closer, afraid of what she might find. "Madam Secretary, are you alright?" Her blue eyes stared up at the ceiling, unblinking. "Ma'am!" Daisy cried. "Someone call 91-"

"Daisy!" The Secretary suddenly bolted upright, startling her.

"Oh my God!" Daisy exclaimed. "Ma'am, are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Sorry about that, babe." Babe? Daisy tried to ignore the endearment. "I think the better question is Daisy, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," Elizabeth said.

"I, uh, I just saw you lying there and I guess I just assumed the worst." A little awkwardly, Daisy added, "I'm just dropping off this report for Jay."

"Thanks! You can just leave it on my desk. Sorry about the scare." Daisy nodded and left as quickly as she could without running.

* * *

Matt was refilling his cup of coffee, when the Secretary waltzed into the breakroom. He attempted to start a conversation. "Hello, ma'am. How has your day been?"

She ignored him, apparently too engrossed in the conversation she appeared to be having with herself. "So anyway, this guy, Walter Nowack or something, wouldn't stop talking about how the seventh floor has real mugs while they only have paper cups downstairs. He looked like a coffee-deprived gopher, and he kind of reminded me of that one French literature professor from UVA... Denise Chang! Yes, that's the one."

"Sorry ma'am, were you talking to me?" Matt asked.

"No, Matt. Just getting some coffee."

"Okay…" He wasn't offended. Not at all. It was just that there was no one else in the room, and the Secretary wasn't known to talk to herself.

"You know what would be great?" she asked to no one as she walked out of the room. "Edible tape. For burritos and hamburgers and stuff."

* * *

"Madam Secretary, I'd like to discus the matter of the French foreign official," Nadine declared as she walked into her boss's office "You know, the one that Jay describes as an empty crêpe? My main concern is-"

"I love you too," Elizabeth whispered softly.

Nadine's head snapped to look at her boss. The two had butted heads since she had taken office, but sarcasm at that level was completely unexpected and entirely rude. "Well, I, um-" she struggled to find words for a retort, too stunned to think of something.

"Hi, Nadine. We have a meeting this afternoon, right?" Nadine blinked, confused. Had the Secretary not heard anything?

"Yes, but I was just wondering if I could discuss something with you?"

"Of course." Elizabeth glanced away. "Hang on a second, babe," she said to the non-existent person at her left. Then to Nadine she asked, "Would you like to step into my office? I have a few minutes right now."

"No, it's okay. You seem like- I mean, I'll just, uh, wait until our appointment. Sorry about that ma'am." Nadine scurried back to her office and tried to forget entire interaction.

* * *

"Madam Secretary," Jay said. "I'd like your opinion on the Deep Sea Probe and Exploration Project."

"Are you flirting with me?" Elizabeth asked with a saucy lip bite.

"Excuse me ma'am?" Jay recoiled, completely taken aback.

She giggled. "Well, you're as handsome as you are brilliant."

Once Jay wrapped his head around the fact that his boss had just hit on him, he said, "Madam Secretary, this is highly unprofessional behavior. This kind of harassment is both vile and illegal, not to mention that we are both married!" He was happy with Abby, and from what he's gathered at the last state dinner, the Secretary was happy with Dr. McCord. Looks could be deceiving, he supposed.

"You started it," Elizabeth retorted.

"No, in fact I didn't. Look, I know this is DC, but frankly, I never expected that from you. I thought you were different," Jay spat, disappointed. He thought she wasn't a typical bureaucrat. She seemed like she actually wanted to change things.

Elizabeth's eyes met Jay's, and, as if just seeming him for the first time, she exclaimed, "Jay! I'm so sorry; I didn't see you there. What can I help you with?" Her wording was professional and polite, a complete about face from her previous statements.

"Really?" He asked indignantly. "You know what? Never mind." He turned to storm out of her office.

"Jay, wait. What's wrong?" Secretary McCord's eyebrows furrowed as if she were trying to make sense of it all. He paused and studied her face. She seemed genuinely baffled by his outburst.

"It's nothing, ma'am." He was going to neutral, but it came out as a cross between confrontational and disgusted.

"You sure?" Elizabeth asked. "I have a good 10 minutes before my next meeting, if you want to talk."

Now it was Jay's turn to be confused. Did she really not remember what just happened? "No, ma'am. Thank you," he said hastily and left abruptly.

* * *

"Ahem." Nadine coughed awkwardly to catch everyone's attention. Jay, Matt, Daisy, Blake, and Nadine were all sitting in a break room, and Nadine hesitantly decided to bring up the elephant in the room. "Has anybody else noticed that the Secretary's been acting odd lately?"

"Yeah. It's like she's not really with you," Daisy agreed. "I totally thought she was dead or something when I walked in during lunch."

"Not to mention she's been talking to herself a lot." Matt added.

"She hit on me," Jay said.

"Wait, what?" Blake asked and tilted his head. "Did I miss something, or did you just say that the Secretary verbally harassed you?"

Jay shrugged. "It's a long story."

"What if she's schizophrenic or something?" Matt said.

"God, I hope it's not drugs," Daisy said. "That would be a PR nightmare."

"Could be a brain tumor," Jay suggested. A somber tone set over the group. Marsh died not two months ago. Though the team had yet to bond with Secretary McCord, the idea of losing another boss was not something any of them wanted to consider. As much as Nadine hated to admit it, the new Secretary was growing on her despite unorthodox methods and an incredible sense of duty to morality that occasionally caused friction within the team.

"Okay, okay. I'm sure there's a logical explanation for her behavior. Blake, why don't you talk to her?" Nadine looked pointedly at the assistant.

"But why me?" he protested like a small child who didn't want to do his chores.

"Because you're her assistant, and frankly, you have a better relationship with her than any of us," Nadine replied. "Also, I'm the Chief of Staff, so I'm also technically your boss." The four looked at Blake until he cracked and nervously approached her office. Taking a deep breath, Blake braced himself for what was bound to be an unpleasant conversation.

"Ma'am I would like to bring up a concern on behalf of the staff."

"What can I do?" Elizabeth appeared to be paying attention, but she didn't meet his eyes.

"Well, if I may, ma'am." Stop stalling, Blake told himself.

"Of course, babe."

Blake cleared his throat and continued with his practiced speech. "You've seemed a little... Off lately. People have noticed that you've been unfocused, gazing into the distance, and even talking to yourself when you're alone. We just wanted to ask if you're-"

"Talk to you after your class. Love you, bye." Elizabeth glanced up from her stack of papers. "Blake, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there. Do I have a meeting now, or is Russell Jackson about to barge in?"

"Um, it's nothing ma'am," he lied. "Sorry for the interruption. Could I get you any coffee? Tea?" He offered as genuinely as possible.

"No thank you, Blake." He smiled and shuffled out of the room.

"Blake! What did you find out?" Daisy, Matt, and Jay ambushed him as soon as he closed the door.

"I couldn't do it. I'm sorry," Blake looked down in shame.

"Nadine," Jay called the Chief of Staff over. "I think it's time for an intervention." The Chief of Staff nodded, and set her face in grim resolution.

"Ma'am." Nadine entered the office with the staff. "I think you owe us a little explanation for your recent behavior."

"Sorry?" The Secretary cocked her head to the side.

"Blake mentioned that you seemed a little out of it, so at first we were worried that you were sick. Poor Daisy over there thought you were dead on your couch during lunch. Matt said you were talking to yourself in the coffee room. So then we thought you might be... A different kind of sick. But your behavior became for audacious throughout the day. First it started with the rather sarcastic 'I love you' with me, and then you hit on Jay! I'm confident that I can speak for everyone when I say that we will not tolerate this kind of nonsense. You're America's lead diplomat, for Pete's sake!" Nadine would have continued, but she noticed that the Secretary's face had turned a rather unnatural shade of pink.

"Oh dear God. Yes, I suppose I do owe you an explanation." Elizabeth sighed. She stepped out from behind the desk and looked into the eyes of her expectant staff. "When I was young, and Henry was over seas, we would stay on the line even after we ran out of things to talk about. It was a comfort for both of us, to know that the other was there, breathing. It reminded me that he was alive and that he would come back to me. Later, we would stay on the line after we fought as a reminder that we were always together no matter what. When the kids were little, it was sometimes the only time we had alone together. As much as I love being a mother, I also wanted to stay in touch with a world where it was just the two of us.

"Since I've taken this job, I haven't been spending as much time with my family as I've wanted to. The past few weeks I've gotten home so late that everyone else is asleep, including my husband. Talking to him helps me feel grounded. Conversely, when we don't get time to talk or spend time together, I find myself feeling lost. This morning, he suggested that we call each other. Of course, we turn it off during meetings or when he's in a class, but when I'm just reviewing reports and he's grading, it's nice to just be together even if we aren't in the same room." The Secretary pulled out her phone. "You're on speaker, babe. Say hi to my staff."

"Hello Elizabeth's staff!" A cheery Dr. McCord called out.

"They thought I was going batshit crazy," she told her husband.

"Well babe, you are a little crazy. A little crazy about me." Elizabeth rolled her eyes, but there was a grin tugging at her lips. The staff exchanged amused glances at the playful banter.

"Hey, listen," Elizabeth said, "Blake says I'm going to get home at a reasonable hour tonight, so I'll see you then?"

"Sounds good. Love you!"

"I love you too! Bye," she hung up the phone, and they all noticed the lovestruck daze on her face.

"Ma'am…" Blake started. The Secretary and staff waited for him to continue. "The rest of your meetings today can be rescheduled. If I may, I think you deserve to have some time at home with your family."

"Thank you, Blake. That means alot," Secretary McCord stood up. "You know what? Let's all just take a break. The world isn't in a state of chaos right now, so we could probably take a few hours off. I'll see you all for dinner?"

"Why don't you bring Henry along? We'd love to meet him," Nadine said. The Secretary's face lit up. Her love for her husband was clear to anyone who saw her.

"I'd love to."

* * *

I'm currently trying to find a genre/story format that suits my writing. Thoughts? Let me know in the reviews.

I'll be back next week with yet another one-shot. I'm working on a longer, more dramatic story, and I need more time to outline/flesh it out before I post the first chapter.


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